Panel frame corner connector

ABSTRACT

1,208,232. Corner connectors for panel frames. ACME GENERAL CORP. 6 Feb., 1969 [10 May, 1968], No. 6594/69. Heading E1J. In a panel frame corner connection the stile 10 has a transverse section of E shape consisting of an inner flange 37, outer flange 38 and a springy middle flange 39 to accommodate panels 15 of different thicknesses, said connector comprising an L-shaped springy metal member 20 having one rectangular arm 22 with a side wall 28 perpendicular thereto and along one longitudinal edge thereof, the side wall 28 having cut out therefrom a longitudinally extending resilient arm 30 with a detent 31 on its free end adapted to engage in an opening 33 in the stile, the other arm of the member 20 forming a hook with a diverging end portion 23 bevelled at its extreme end portion 25, to engage in a hole 27 in a flange of the rail to draw the rail towards the stile The weight of the door on the detent 31 retains it in the aperture 33 and when pressed back to release the connector from the stile, a stop 32 prevents over stressing of the arm 30 A projection 34 on the arm 28 prevents the connector being pushed too far into the stile and spacer lumps 35 retain the arm 30 as correct distance from the outer flange 38 and are guided in the stile by end of the flange 39.

June 7, 1969 K. K. KELLEMS 3,450,426

PANEL FRAME; CORNER CONNECTOR Filed May 10, 1968 FIG. 1.

/A/l/EA/7'0R KENNETH K KELLEMS BY Ms A 77'0RA/EY5 HARE/3, Mam RussELL & KERN United States Patent US. Cl. 287-189.35 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A corner connector for the rail and stile of a frame for a panel or the like, readily insertable and removable from the rail and stile, and having a spring detent to cooperate with an opening in the stile to maintain assembly.

The corner connector of the present invention is an improvement on the corner connectors 48 and 50 shown and described in the patent to Brydolf et al., No. 3,261,- 129, to which reference is hereby made for a full and detailed description of the uses to which such connectors may be put and the manner thereof.

Said corner connectors of said Brydolf et al. patent are difficult to install with accuracy by inexperienced workmen in the field and more difiicult to remove for replacement or repair. It is a primary object of this invention to provide such a corner connector which can be accurately and easily installed in or removed from a rail and stile by any inexperienced workman in the field or elsewhere. without any hazard of damage to the connector, rail, or stile.

Frequently, when a rail and stile are assembled with a central panel girded thereby there will happen to result a slight space between a rail and stile, which is an unsightly condition. It is a further object of this invention to provide such a corner connector which upon assembly in a rail and stile will automatically draw the rail into engagement with and at right angles to the stile, to eliminate any such space therebetween and insure a square installation.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following specification and the drawing, which are for the purpose of illustration only, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical view, partly in section, illustrating the manner in which my corner connector may be installed and used;

FIG. 2 is a cross-section on the line 22 of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a plan view of my corner connector;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the connector of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the lower end of the connector as seen in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is an end view of the upper end of the connector as seen in FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawing, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a sliding door 10 adapted to be slidably supported by a hanger 11 on an overhead track 12, and guided by a lower guide 13 in a guide track 14, the door 10 including a door panel 15, upper and lower horizontal rails 16 and 17, respectively, and a vertical stile 18, it being understood that the right side of the door panel (not shown) is provided with similar parts. This is conventional and is shown and described in said Brydolf et al. patent.

The rails 16 and 17 are connected to the stile 18 by an upper corner connector 20 and a lower corner connector 21, which are mirror images of each other, so only the upper connector 20 will be described hereinafter. The connectors are preferably formed of spring metal.

The connector 20 has a generally flat base 22 having ice a cutout notch 23 to form a hook or projection 24 having a beveled inner end surface 25. The projection 24 is adapted to fit into a slot 27 in the rail 16. The connector 20 has a side flange 28, and an end flange 29, both of which are perpendicular to the base 22 and to each other. The side flange 28 is formed to provide a spring detent arm 30 having an outwardly projecting detent 31 and a limiting stop 32 thereon. The detent 31 is adapted to enter and engage in a slot 33 in the stile 18, and the outer edge 30a of the detent arm 30 engages the inner surface of the rear stile flange 38 to limit outward movement of the detent and detent arm. The upper end 31a of the detent arm 30, as seen in FIG. 4, is angled downwardly away from the detent 31, which, when the detent is engaged in slot 33 and the weight of the associated door hangs therefrom, by a camming or wedging action biases the detent arm 30 outwardly towards the stile 18 to assure retention of the detent 31 in the slot 33. The side flange 28 is also pro vided with a limiting stop 34. Struck or deformed from the base 22 are similar humps 35.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the stile 18 is generally E- shaped, being provided with a front stile flange 37, a rear stile flange 38, and an intermediate stile flange 39, forming a front stile channel 40 and a rear stile channel 41. The front stile channel 40 is adapted to receive the door panel 15, and the intermediate flange 39, being formed of resilient or bendable material, will accommodate door panels of varying thicknesses. Also as shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate flange is bent so that the humps 35 of the connector 20 ride on the intermediate flange only adjacent to the outer wall of the stile 18, which permits door panels of different thickness to be received in the front channel 40 without affecting the position of the connector 20 in the rear channel 41, and this is a feature of the invention. Also as shown in FIG. 2, the outer end 39a of the intermediate stile flange 39 is bent towards the rear stile flange 38 to form a locating and guiding channel 39b in which the humps 35 ride to guide and locate the connector 20 relative to the stile 18.

In forming the door 10, the rails 16 and 17 and stile 18 (and a similar stile on opposite side of door) are placed on the door panel 15 in roughly the positions shown in FIG. 1. The upper corner connector 20 is then moved downwardly (as seen in FIG. 1) into the rear channel 41 of the stile 18, during which movement the hook or projection 24 enters the slot 27 in the rail 16. If the rail 16 is slightly separated from the stile 18, engagement of the tapered end surface 25 of the projection 24 engages the outer end of the slot 27, and on continued downward movement of the connector 20 to surface 25 will draw the rail 16 to the left (as seen in FIG. 1) into its desired engagement with the stile 18 and eliminating any slight cracks or spaces therebetween, and this is another feature of the invention. During such downward movement of the connector 20 the detent arm 30 and detent 31 are depressed by engagement with the inner wall of the rear stile flange 38, until the detent clears the upper end of the slot 33 in the stile 18, at which point the detent arm and detent spring outwardly to the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which the end of the detent by engaging with the end of the slot, prevents upward'movement of the connector relative to the stile. The limiting stop 34 on the side flange 30 of the connector 20, by engagement with the top of the stile 18, limits further downward movement of the connector after the detent 31 has engaged in the slot 33, which is also a feature of the invention. Thus, in the fully assembled position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector 20 is locked in position in the stile 18, by the detent 31 and limiting stop 34 and by the humps 35, and the hook 25 in turn locks the rail 16 on the door panel 15 and against the stile.

To remove the connector 20 from the rail 16 and stile v 18 it is only necessary to depress the detent 31 to a position of clearance below the inner wall of the rear flange 38 of the stile 18, by a screw driver or like implement, upon which the connector 20 may easily be withdrawn by hand from the stile 18 and rail 16, to permit replacement or repair. The limiting stop 32, upon such depression of the detent 31, will permit the detent to clear the inner wall of the rear flange 38 but will then engage the main body of the side flange 28 to prevent overbending of, and damage to, the detent arm 30, which is another feature of the invention. The other corner connectors 21, etc., may similarly be assembled and removed from their respective rails and stiles, and with the same effect and advantages.

I claim:

1. In combination:

a stile and a rail disposed at right angles corner having front and rear sides said stile being generally E-shaped and having front, rear, and intermediate stile flanges providing front and rear stile channels disposed side by side and facing inwardly relative to said corner, said front stile channel being adapted to receive a panel edge therein, said stile having a stile opening in said rear flange,

said rail providing a rail channel which faces inwardly relative to said corner and which is adapted to receive a panel edge therein, said rail having a rail opening therein; and

a connector in said corner on the rear side thereof,

said connector having a portion in said rear stile channel, and having a spring detent adapted to snap into said stile opening to retain the connector in the stile when the connector is slid into the stile, and having a projection adapted to fit into said rail opening to retain the rail relative to the stile when the connector is slid into the stile and rail.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the connector has projection means on its bottom engageable with said intermediate stile flange to space the major portion of the connector therefrom.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the intermediate stile flange is resiliently bendable to accommodate panels of different thicknesses.

4. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the outer end of the intermediate stile flange is bent towards the rear stile flange to provide a locating and guiding channel to form a 4 in which a portion of the connector is adapted to fit to guide the connector and retain it relative to the stile.

5. A device as defined in claim 1, in which said projection is adapted to draw the rail towards the stile upon insertion of the projection into the rail opening.

6. A device as defined in claim 1, in which there are engageable stops on the spring detent and body of the connector to prevent overstressing of the detent.

7. A device as defined in claim 1, in which there is a stop on the connector engageable with the stile to limit movement of the connector into the stile.

8. As an article of manufacture, a corner connector for the rail and stile of a panel frame, including:

an L-shaped metal member having a rectangular base and a sidewall perpendicular thereto and along one longitudinal edge thereof, the sidewall having a portion cut out to form a longitudinally extending resilient arm in the same plane as the sidewall and having a detent on its free end adapted to engage in an opening in a stile to removably connect the connector to such stile, and the base having an L-shaped extension from the other edge of the base and forming a hook adapted to enter an opening in a rail adjacent to the stile to connect the rail and stile together and form a corner of a panel frame.

9. A corner connector as defined in claim 6, in which the base has a pair of longitudinally spaced projections deformed from the lower surface of the base to engage a portion of the stile and space the major area of the base therefrom.

10. A device as defined in claim 1, in which the spring detent has an angled end edge that fits under a wall of the stile opening and which, when a downward load is applied to the stile, tends to move the detent towards the stile, to assist in retaining the detent in the stile opening.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,261,129 7/1966 Brydolf et a1. 49-411 3,294,429 12/1966 Halip. 3,315,996 4/1967 Sedo 287-18936 FOREIGN PATENTS 670,040 9/ 1963 Canada.

MARION PARSONS, JR., Primary Examiner. 

